2014 Monaco Grand Prix

Which F1 driver was the best performer during the Monaco Grand Prix weekend?

Review how each driver got on below and vote for who impressed you the most during the last race weekend.

Monaco Grand Prix driver-by-driver

Red Bull

Sebastian Vettel – Another weekend of what might have been after yet more car troubles. He coped with an ERS problem in qualifying and lined up less than two-tenths of a second off Ricciardo. In the race a clean start moved him up to this but any hopes of a podium finish died soon afterwards with turbo trouble.

Daniel Ricciardo – Ricciardo looked in fine form around the streets all weekend. He would have paid the price for a poor start, however, had the two drivers who took advantage of it not been struck down by misfortune. He gave chase of the struggling Hamilton late in the race but it always looked doubtful he would have a genuine chance to pass his rival around such a narrow circuit.

Mercedes

Nico Rosberg – Not everyone will accept the stewards’ verdict that his moment at Mirabeau, which won him the most important pole position of the year, was an entirely innocent mistake. It was a pity they did not publicise some of the information that led them to their conclusion. Rosberg’s work on his starts paid off and with the advantage of track position this looked a certain win whatever Hamilton threw at him.

Lewis Hamilton – Hamilton’s behaviour outside the car attracted rather more comment than his performance at the wheel. For a driver who’s often shown great flair around Monaco, it was surprising he was even in a position to lose pole to Rosberg in the manner he did. Overtaking any car around Monaco was always going to prove tough, let alone one from the same team in a scenario where both had to start on the same tyre compound. The mid-race Safety Car period and Hamilton’s eye problem in the closing laps only cemented the inevitable.

Ferrari

Fernando Alonso – His qualifying lap was a joy to behold, impressively seven-tenths quicker than Raikkonen. But he got boxed in behind Ricciardo at the start and lost out to his team mate. He had a quiet run to fourth after Raikkonen hit trouble and Vettel dropped out.

Kimi Raikkonen – Started brilliantly to grab fourth, which became third when Vettel parked up. The television cameras did not appear to catch the incident with Chilton under the Safety Car which forced him to make an extra pit stop and dropped him to 14th. He passed Kobayashi and was running eighth when he misjudged an overtaking move on Magnussen which cost both time, dropped Raikkonen out of the points entirely and earned him a reprimand.

Lotus

Romain Grosjean – Started 14th and sustained a puncture on the first lap, prompting an early switch to soft tyres. He found those impossible to overtake on so stopped again for super-softs on lap 23, which he ran until the end of the race. By then he had ascended to ninth place, and Bianchi’s penalty promoted him to eighth for the second race in a row.

Pastor Maldonado – Reached Q2 for the first time this year but a fuel pump problem prevented him from starting the race.

McLaren

Jenson Button – Said he had the pace to get to Q3 but didn’t put the lap together that he needed. Tangled with Perez on the first lap, eliminating the Force India, but both were judged blameless. Ran behind Magnussen until his team mate’s power unit problem gave him a chance to overtake for sixth.

Kevin Magnussen – Believed he could have qualified one place higher but still started several spots ahead of Button. Endured a frustrating race including a long hold at his pit stop due to traffic, Vergne’s car being waved out in front of him, a power unit fault and Raikkonen’s lunge at the hairpin. But he came away with a point for tenth.

Force India

Nico Hulkenberg – Beaten to Q3 by his team mate but made amends in the race by running a long second stint on super-soft tyres. The highlight was a daring pass on Magnussen at Portier, moving up to fifth at the chequered flag – and in the points.

Sergio Perez – Was unlucky to be bumped out of the race on the first lap in what the stewards ruled was a racing incident.

Sauber

Adrian Sutil – Both Saubers went out in Q1, Sutil for the fourth time this year, and the team are now behind Marussia in the points table. He picked up front wing damage on the first lap and stopping to replace it cost him more places. He was beginning to make progress through the field when he crashed at the chicane.

Esteban Gutierrez – Was closing on Sauber’s first points finish of the year when he clipped the barrier at Rascasse and spun into retirement.

Toro Rosso

Jean-Eric Vergne – Starred in qualifying, taking seventh on the grid. Magnussen passed him at the start and his team’s eagerness to wave Vergne out of the pits ahead of the McLaren earned him a drive-through penalty. Then, with some predictability, an exhaust problem ended his race.

Daniil Kvyat – Swiped the barrier during qualifying but impressively reached Q3 on his first visit to Monaco. His race ended early however with another exhaust problem.

Williams

Felipe Massa – Proved no good deed goes unpunished when he tried to let Ericsson past during Q1 and was hit by the Caterham, leaving him unable to run in Q2. However a brave gamble of not pitting during the two Safety Car periods paid off handsomely, lifting him to seventh at the flag.

Valtteri Bottas – Was running eighth with a train of cars behind him when his Mercedes power unit failed.

Marussia

Jules Bianchi – Half a second quicker than Chilton in qualifying, he started 21st after a gearbox change penalty. But gained a handful of places at the start and made a vital pass on Kobayashi at mid-race at Rascasse. Benefit from a few more retirements in front of him to finish eighth on the road, which became ninth after a five-second penalty was applied.

Max Chilton – The biggest role he played in Marussia’s success was getting out of Bianchi’s way when he was being lapped. He also tangled with Raikkonen at Mirabeau during the second Safety Car period, earning a reprimand.

Caterham

Kamui Kobayashi – Was unhappy with Bianchi’s move at Rascasse, saying: “I’m sure I’d have finished in the points if Bianchi hadn’t hit me when he forced his way past”, adding his car was “basically undriveable” after the contact. Nonetheless he brought his car home 13th after a late second pit stop.

Marcus Ericsson – Stayed out of trouble and benefited from the retirements of others to take 11th, just a few tenths ahead of the recovering and fast-closing Raikkonen.

@mateuss Well when you put it that way… He as good as came last right? But seriously he does deserve some credit, it can’t be easy driving with one eye, and he does have a decent enough reason to question the result on Sunday given the events of Saturday

Evidently you did not read the F1 article which reported that Lewis lied to his team mate after there was an agreement about engine seatings in the previous race. Lewis is just not an honest guy and complains bitterly when things do not go this way. See the article in the last F1 newsletter. Lewis is the same guy how tried to screw over Alonzo when they were team mates…. The guy is just not to be belived …. did he get any medical attention after the race to help with his alleged eye issue?? Thanks, RnR PS I have never, I say never said anything about any other driver because I know their job and the politics in F1 are daunting, however, LewisH is not to be believed nor trusted……

And you didn’t read the Article that said that Nico Turned his Engine up in Bahrain 1st to try to overtake after the Safety Car… thats when they allowed Lewis to Change his settings which was heard on the Radio…Lewis Paid him back in Spain and Now Rosberg “Made a Mistake” in Mirbeau..so in the Gamesmanship Stakes Rosberg is Leading 2-1… Get all your facts straight before you make a statement please…

Absolute no brainer. Has to be Bianchi. He was mixing with the Saubers and the Lotuses in free practice, battered Chilton in qualifying, and produced the race of his life to finish in 9th. The overtake on Kobayashi will be controversial but it was still a top move.

Gotta agree. Great result and it was one of those weekends nobody else really stood out. The other contenders for the trophy – Hulk, RIC, ROS, Ericsson, Kvyat all had their good moments but also a few glitches throughout the weekend.

You can say it’s down to luck and the amount of retirements but he just took every opportunity there was.
He was comfortably fastest of the Marussia/ Caterham boys in qualy, beating Chilton by 0.6 sec.
He had to start from the back of the grid due to a gearbox change, and he delivered a very mature drive.
Jules made a fantastic but risky move on Kobayashi when he let Kimi by and he was just faultless the rest of the race.

This brings us back to the Minardi days when they were over the moon when they scored a point. It’s just so nice to see a backmarker score points.

And btw, Chilton also helped Marussia to points, because he hit Kimi, who fell back and hit Magnussen.. Haha

I was tempted to go with Bianchi. But after some consideration I gave it to Rosberg. While Bianchi helped Marrusia to their first ever points, a lot of variables fell into place. Not taking away anything from Bianchi or the Marrusia’s progress, Rosberg gets it for withstanding immense pressure from Hamilton throughout the weekend.

I respect your opinion but I disagree. Rosberg once again cracked under pressure in Q3, only this time it ended up playing to his advantage. In addition, his race was strong, but it was made a lot easier by his own variables falling into place: safety car stopping strategies, debris hitting Lewis’ eye(not that it would have given Lewis the win, but it took away the pressure), the safety cars allowing him to save fuel. While both Rosberg’s and Bianchi’s drives were impressive, both of theirs were a bit lucky.

doesn’t context mean anything to anyone nowadays? In free practice, drivers will run off the track when making mistakes that if that same mistake had happened in the race, they would have kept on the track.

In qualifying, risking running into the barrier is pointless after a mistake, especially since the run is effectively over. How many times have we seen a driver on a hot lap in qualifying bail out because of small error or traffic up ahead? A hundred, a thousand, more?

ROS second run in Q3 was more on the edge than his pace in the race. Breaking a bit later to maximize hundredths of a second. In qualifying, his run was over with the mistake, but in the race a driver will do almost anything NOT to go into the run off. (Conversely, in qualifying, a driver wouldn’t risk a move like RAI did at the Loews hairpin on MAG, but it’s worth it the race – though contact with MAG altered his radius). Drivers lock up in races all the time. Heck, ROS was locking up behind the safety car.

Now I wouldn’t put it pass ROS to have hung it out more knowing if he makes a mistake and a yellow comes out, he’s in the catbird seat. But premeditated ala Schumacher ’06? I don’t think so. He’s not that kind of guy. I’ve never seen it.

Rosberg won the race due to a Pole position because hamilton couldn’t do his last lap, and during the race he had no oposition with Hamilton’s trouble in the last laps… Can’t see any briliance in Rosberg’s weekend

This is one of the “Cheapest” wins of the last few years, can’t vote for Rosberg this weekend.

I agree and gave my vote to Nico R. Nico ran a perfect as can be expected race when you realize that Lewis was on his tail for most of the race. If Nico had babbled for one micro second Lewis would of passed but Nico drove without incident and won the race … fair and square. Many of the drivers of the less exalted teams did a superb job with the equipment they have to work with…. no matter how hard I try I can not get FilipeM up on the podium … same for Kimi and Jenson…. and RoaminG …. yes Bianci did a great job … I think I got ‘em all …. Thanks. RnR

You need to have a significantly faster car at Monaco if you want to overtake and it’s not that hard to defend against an identical car, even if it’s on your tail the whole time. And when it comes to winning “fair and square”, remember that the stewards didn’t declare Nico “innocent”. They declared him “not guilty”. There is a big difference there. It means it wasn’t a clear cut. It might have been an honest mistake, so they decided not to punish him. It might have been an honest mistake, but it doesn’t mean it was. I’m still rooting for Nico in his championship bid, but this one felt like a cheap victory.

Rosberg dominated the race from start to finish, holding Hamilton off which isn’t by any means, easy.

Bianchi drove solidly throughout, obviously retirements heped him massively to get in the points. But still, first points for Marussia, which is amazing. Thrashed his team mate and don’t forget that vital move on Kobayashi which was opportunistic and it showed that Marussia are the best ‘new’ team.

Hulkenberg had a quiet race, but he was consistent and was effectively the best of the rest behind the Mercedes, Ricciardo and Alonso. His move on Magnussen was epic as well.

Even with the retirements, I went for Bianchi. I mean, Marussia got their first ever points!

I didn’t go mainstream. I voted for Hulkenberg. Maybe he wasn’t impressive in qualifying, but drove flawlessly in the race and grabbed every opportunity, didn’t make mistakes and avoided collisions with others, which others couldn’t. And his pass on Magnussen was one of the best this year.

I tried to think of alternatives, but it has to be Bianchi. Usual great effort in qualifying, and starting last on the grid to come in 8th on the road was supreme, even considering the usually high attrition by recent standards (even for Monaco). And his overtake on Kobayashi was incredibly ballsy. Perhaps an even simpler choice than last race.

Went for Nico Hulkenberg.
Not because Bianchi was unimpessive, but I found the Rosberg error in Qualy too important. Delibrate or not, reversing out of the escape road should be avoided at all times. And Lewis’s comments throughout the weekend has definitely put me off from supporting him anytime soon. Sebastian went through 4 years of dominance without losing his head (hypocrisy after Multi 21 aside), Lewis cant go 4 races. And obviously he lost out to Nico.
Hulkenberg didnt make mistakes, grabbed every oppurtunity and made an amazing pass on Magnussen. More importantly he did ALMOST 50 laps on supersofts and managed to evade the claws of Button.

I voted Jules .Fantastic drive . Risky move on none other than Kobayashi . Great drive under pressure despite the penalties .@keithcollantine

it was surprising he was even in a position to lose pole to Rosberg in the manner he did.

The margin was around 6 hundredths of a second despite all the controversy .

The mid-race Safety Car period and Hamilton’s eye problem in the closing laps only cemented the inevitable.

I agree with you mildly that Rosberg winning was sort of ‘inevitable’ . But no mention of him holding onto 2nd driving with eye problems in those closing laps . I am not going for sympathy votes . Just thought you could have mentioned it as it was part of the action.

Uh, by the time Daniel Ricciardo caught Lewis, his eye was okay. He said it himself. So he simply stayed ahead of Daniel, who had an arguably faster car for over the corners, but had a deficit of 4-6kmph on straight and drivability problems for 4 laps.
And ^ is approximately the same length as Keith’s whole summary of Lewis’s weekend, it isnt worthwhile to mention the fact, really.

I shall not vote for either Mercedes driver since they ended up pretty much as expected, and neither shall I vote for Ricciardo whom Vettel had a pretty realistic chance of beating in both qualifying and the race had it not been for those mechanical gremlins… Vettel never got the chance to show what he could really do, so he’s out of the equation as well.

I’ve narrowed down my choices to Hülkenberg and Bianchi but I decided to go for the latter. Apart from a dragging a Marussia to the points by taking advantage of mechanical failures and driving errors from others, like Hülkenberg he managed a brilliant overtake on another driver (Kobayashi) and also finished ahead of Grosjean (Not accounting for the penalty) despite being equipped with backmarker machinery, made even more impressive by the fact that Grosjean is a proven talent and among one of the best drivers on the current grid. We can argue that Bianchi got lucky with attrition, but he made no errors unlike the Sauber pair and he simply made the most of a situation that was to his benefit. Thus my vote goes to Bianchi.

Jules Bianchi is the only driver deserving a 10/10 last weekend.
Even though he made a fault standing in the wrong starting position – and admited he could have make Q2, Bianchi was faultless when the action really started.

Still can’t believe Marussia has now scored points in F1, and they probably could have done twice as much if not for a rookie pitwall mistake.

Bianchi is, in my own opinion, the most talented of my fellow coutrymen.

I think that mercedes monopoly, continued in that weekend, but surely the man that won the bet of bringing the first points to marussia – ferrari, was Jules Bianchi. Not only did he manage to achieve his first points in his f1 career, but also he did a stunning and brave driving through the short roads of Monaco. Being qualified into the last position and managing to get into the points is quite a massive achievement for the young driver, considering the fact that Monaco is the shortest track among the 19 races of the calendar and the most difficult to overtake, due to that fact. So, all credits to that guy , who fully deserved the 2, why not 4 points that he could get if there was’nt that five-second penalty.

Had to pick Bianchi. Though high attrition and two ridiculous accidents from the Sauber drivers played a role in it, he still scored points in a car that has no business in the top half of the field. It has been too long since the team with the smallest budget has managed such a feat. Finishing two laps up on Chilton added some comedy to it as well.

Other than that, there were a few other drivers who drove brilliantly. Hulkenberg was impressive as ever. Grosjean scoring points in spite of bad luck and bad strategy was outstanding. Raikkonen was epic until Chilton decided that he wanted to have a go at him. And Button actually had a very good showing, timing his pit stops perfectly around the chaos and making some ballsy moves to cut through the field. Good stuff.